Hayley Kiyoko moves behind the camera for her feature directorial debut with "Girls Like Girls," a coming-of-age romance that transforms her 2015 anthem into a full narrative about teenage love and self-discovery. The film follows two girls navigating their feelings for each other during summer break, capturing both the euphoria and heartbreak of first love with genuine emotional clarity.
Zach Braff appears alongside the young leads in a supporting role, lending established credibility to what is essentially a passion project for Kiyoko. The pop star and actress, who has built her public persona around LGBTQ+ representation and visibility, channels that authenticity into her directorial work. Her musical background informs the project's sensibility, creating a film that understands how deeply tied teenage emotions are to the soundtrack of one's life.
The 2015 song "Girls Like Girls" became an anthem for queer youth, celebrating attraction between women with unapologetic confidence. Adapting it into feature form required expanding that single moment of crystalline certainty into a full emotional journey. Kiyoko's debut demonstrates restraint and maturity in avoiding the trap of making the song itself the entire statement, instead using it as thematic foundation for a story about vulnerability, identity, and the messy reality of wanting someone.
Coming-of-age dramas centered on queer romance have gained traction in recent years, from "Heartstopper" to "Everything Sucks," but they remain underrepresented in theatrical film releases. Kiyoko's entry into this space carries particular weight given her established platform and fanbase. She understands her audience's hunger for representation that doesn't treat queer love as tragic or taboo, but rather as ordinary, complicated, and worth celebrating.
The timing positions "Girls Like Girls" within a broader cultural moment where creators are